Over the last decade, there have been various acts of aggression committed by Coyotes (Canis latrans var.) in Nova Scotia (NS). These attacks have led to injury, or even fatality, which promoted this research on Coyote morphology and behaviour. Many Coyote carcasses from Atlantic Canada were received from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (NSDNR), which allowed various morphological measurements to be taken and tissue samples to be collected. A recent study by Power et al. (2015) demonstrated a trend among male Coyotes in Atlantic Canada that contained an Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon) haplotype and a larger overall body size as measured by principal components analysis (PCA). The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant correlation between Wolf mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes or nuclear DNA (nuDNA) (as assessed using microsatellite markers) and larger body size among male Coyotes within NS. To investigate this potential trend exclusively male samples were studied, and nuDNA was utilized to complement the mtDNA data. DNA was isolated from Coyote skin tissue (ear), and specific haplotypes of the mtDNA control region were amplified and sequenced. After sequencing, the mtDNA was identified to contain one of two Coyote haplotypes (Cla28, Cla29), or an Eastern Wolf haplotype (GL20). Each Coyote sample was assigned a haplotype using phylogenetic analysis, and linked to its associated morphological meta-data. The mtDNA haplotype diversity remained consistent with Power et al. (2015) within NS; however, to determine if a size correlation among haplotypes exists Tukey’s Test must be completed on the PCA results. Non-coding nuDNA was amplified using eight microsatellite primers, and allele lengths were used to genotype individuals. Three genetic clusters were found within NS male Coyotes using STRUCTURE, which are speculated to be of Coyote, Gray Wolf (Canis lupus), and Eastern Wolf origin. All three genetic clusters were present in each Coyote supporting genetic admixture among Canis types. Assortative mating may be occurring among NS populations, as all clusters existed in high proportions within certain individuals. Furthermore, nuDNA microsatellites revealed a decrease in heterozygosity within NS Coyotes, as a possible result of inbreeding. This study was the first to explore microsatellites within NS Coyotes, thus the data will provide essential data for future analyses, possibly explaining the larger body size among NS and Northeastern Coyotes.

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